Four weeks ago we began our current series God's Big Picture. So far we've seen that the Bible is one book about one person (Jesus) about one thing (God's kingdom). In part 2, we looked at Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:26-27. Here we saw the pattern of the kingdom. God's kingdom is God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. In Genesis 1:1 we see that God's people are Adam and Eve, God's place is the garden, and God's rule and blessing is rest (perfect relationships – God and human beings, man and woman, humans and creation). In part 3, we considered the fall or the Perished Kingdom. We saw that from Genesis 3:1 to Genesis 11, God's people is no one, God's place is banishment, and God's rule and blessing is disobedience and curse.
Sunday, in part 4, we looked at how God responded to the fall. We see "glimpses of grace" in several places in the early part of Genesis. (Genesis 3:15, 4:15, 5:24, and 6:8). These glimpses show us that God has a purpose and a plan for his creation and for us. The rescue operation has begun. We see that God is making promises, the Promised Kingdom. We see that God's people are Abraham's descendants, God's place is Canaan, and God's rule and blessing is to bless Israel and the nations through Israel.
Hopefully you are all participating in the Bible reading program. The
Bible in 90 Days reading plan is available
here and the
e100 reading plan is available
here.
If you'd like to use
YouVersion, an online Bible, register for an account and use the reading plans:
Bible in 90 Days or
e100 plan.
If you create an account at
Bible in 90 Days, you can login each week and listen to weekly audio lessons about your reading. The lessons are great and well worth your time! Check out
week 4 here after you create an account.
Finally as you read, how should you respond? Let me suggest the S.O.A.P. method. Here's how it works:
Read the passage and find the one thing you believe God is telling you that day. Then journal about it using the acrostic SOAP as a guide.
S: Scripture-Write the ONE scripture that you feel God is using to speak to you in today’s reading
O: Observation-What might He be telling you with that scripture?
A: Application-How can you apply it to your life?
P: Prayer-What is your prayer to ask God in helping you to make that application?
If you use YouVersion, be sure to follow Steve's progress and comments on his Bible reading and you'll see how he uses the SOAP method. You can also follow his thoughts at stevewynkoop.net.
Have a great week and join us Sunday for part 5!
